Shawn Hoke

This blog began with an invitation. From our very first post, The Local has sought to bring our neighbors in the East Village into the process of producing news and telling their own stories about their community.

Recently, The Local quietly marked six months of publication and while the wonderful experiment that it represents will continue, my time running the site is coming to an end. In August, after what will have been 20 months of planning, developing and publishing The Local, I will step down to pursue other ventures and to devote more time to completing my doctoral dissertation.

Today, NYU is opening the search for the next editor of The Local. Whoever gets the job will be stepping into a position that is exciting, challenging and rewarding and one that is very much helping to drive the industry-wide conversation about digital storytelling, hyperlocal news and the future of pro-am journalism partnerships.

In addition to working with the blog, the editor also serves as a visiting assistant professor at NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute and is responsible for teaching one class, The Hyperlocal Newsroom, per term in the fall and spring.

The editorship is a year-round position that also involves working with students and faculty on the project; supervising summer graduate interns and part-time and freelance staff.

The successful candidate will be well-versed in WordPress, Web and blog culture, and in serving the needs of a growing, ambitious community site with the twin goals of 50 percent community authorship and a leadership role as innovator in the hyperlocal space. The ideal candidate already lives in the East Village or vicinity or is willing to relocate to accept the post. The start date is August 1. Cover letters and resumes or c.v.’s should be sent to leveditor@gmail.com. The job posting with full details can be found here.

I expect that I will be saying the words “thank you” a lot during the next few months as I express my gratitude to everyone who has helped this experience become one of the highlights of my career.

But a few acknowledgements are in order right now.

I must thank my good colleagues on the faculty of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, especially Brooke Kroeger, the Institute’s director, and Jay Rosen, whose shared vision played a crucial role in the creation of the blog. I would also be remiss if I did not acknowledge the professors of the Hyperlocal Newsroom, Yvonne Latty, Mary Quigley and Darragh Worland.

I am immensely grateful for the help of Kim Davis, the blog’s associate editor and its founding community editor, and Colin Moynihan, who also held the post.

The assistance of Mary Ann Giordano, a deputy metropolitan editor at The Times, and Jim Schachter, an associate managing editor, has been invaluable during these past few months.

I also owe a debt to my colleagues at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland where I am a doctoral student. I am grateful to the entire faculty and staff — especially Kevin Klose, the dean of the College, and Linda Steiner, the director of the doctoral program — for their patience, guidance and support.

And I am most thankful for the generosity, energy and vision of the NYU students and community contributors who share their talents with the blog.

And there’s room for more of you. The invitation that we put forth with that very first post still stands. We’re eager to add your voices to those on the site and in my remaining weeks and months with the blog I am committed to building on the work that we’ve begun and finding more ways to open wider the doors of the blog to you, our neighbors.